I have a mag-mount antenna for my E350 Ford van. It is a pain to run the feedline through a window or door, and I worry about crunching the coax.

I am wondering about mounting a PL-239 connector to the roof of the van, then having an internal port to attach to the radio. Yes, there is going to be some (slight) additional loss for having two extra connections between the antenna and the radio, but it would have the added benefit of making it easier to change antennas.

Is there a way to get a PL-239 connector attached to the roof? Is there hardware designed for this?

I guess that I figured the PL-239 connector would be more versatile if I wanted to replace the cheap antenna that I can afford right now with a better one later on. I may also want to set up a larger antenna (read: won't fit on the roof) to use the van as a temporary base station. Would the NMO mount allow me to do that?

You did get the right idea - I am concerned about getting a setup that will be waterproof and not damage the car.

I'd use an NMO mount in the center of the roof for a VHF/UHF whip antenna. If you add HF you'll need a solid (bumper mount perhaps or a ball mount) 3/8-inch mount. For a "temporary base" I'd run a wire out the window to a wire antenna for HF or a small Yagi for VHF/UHF. You might want to consider one of the mounts that you drive a tire over to hold it to the ground.

Drill the hole from the inside. Remove a dome light. make room and drill.. maybe use a step bit to enlarge the hole to exact fit. .remove door post and door sill. Snake cable thru headlinner to side door post..snake cable thru doo post and door sill area to under dash area.

If you use the NMO hole saw, you drill from the outside and run the cable and mount from the outside. (Didn't make sense to me, initially, but it neither would work from the inside). To keep from scratching the paint, I put a piece of 2"-wide blue painter's tape where the hole would go and drilled through that. Came out perfect and didn't leave a mark (besides the 3/4" hole for the mount, of course).

I would still drop the headliner a bit, even though the NMO hole saw won't go in far enough to hit anything. With new cars, they have all sorts of things between the roof and the floor (like side-curtain airbags) so it's easier to run the antenna cable around those obstacles. It's also a good thing to see what's on the other side of the roof before you punch a hole.

Measure twice, cut (drill) once. The $35 hole saw is well worth the investment. It makes the perfect hole and makes it cleanly.

One other thing, the SO-239 adapters and antennas can be big and heavy so you might look around to see where the roof is strongest, or find a way to reinforce it.

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